Apple held its annual press conference/gadget reveal on September 7th and tech nerds everywhere are still buzzing about the results.

Of course the iPhone 7 was the star of the show, sporting a water resistant case, fancy new camera, and impressive upgrade to its battery life. But the real star, at least when it comes to the impact on email marketing, was the announcement of Apple’s largest mobile software upgrade to date: iOS 10.

There are several Apple applications which will receive major overhauls in the upcoming iOS 10 update including the messenger and maps applications, which, as anyone using an iPhone with iOS 9 knows, could both use some serious polishing. But the email application wasn’t ignored completely in this upcoming upgrade. A few key features were added and tweaks to the interface were made which will certainly have an impact on how your emails campaigns will be viewed on a mobile Apple device.

Filtering

When it comes to allocation of focus between Apple’s core applications, the Mail app has routinely received the short end of the stick. It’s not that it doesn’t work the way it should, it’s just when it comes to some of the more useful features the UI isn’t particularly transparent.

The new iOS has taken steps to correct this issue, most notably with the new one-touch filtering system. You’re now allowed to filter your inbox by Unread, Flagged, mail sent directly to you, mail you were CC’d on, mail with attachments, or mail from your designated VIP senders.

It also gives you the ability to filter by your different email accounts, so your recipients will be able to sort through their personal and junk emails leaving only their work emails, giving your campaigns a higher chance of being noticed.

Unsubscribe

Out of all the updates to the iOS mail app, the new unsubscribe feature definitely stands to cause the most significant impact on email marketers. This feature puts a prominent “unsubscribe” link at the top of every promotional email, giving the recipient a more convenient way to rid themselves of unwanted newsletters and offerings.

Although this feature was already included in the Microsoft Outlook iOS app, the addition to the standard Apple mail app will certainly mean a higher unsubscribe rate, especially for those who haven’t quite scaled their campaigns to function on mobile. This will also ramp up pressures to give recipients exactly what they want content-wise, lest they make a hasty decision and conveniently press unsubscribe.

Touch ID Apple Pay

This is more of a general update than an email-specific one, but it is tangentially related none the less. Apple Pay is now being extended into the online space, meaning when you check out of certain online retailers you can simply pay with your thumb print.

photo credit: www.apple.com

This new innovation is just one step closer to the eventual sci-fi future where paper money is a laughable memory and generic credits drain from your account for goods and services. But besides conjuring images of silver, v-necked jumpsuits and hover boots, this handy new tech will make the buying process that much simpler, giving your customers a more seamless transition from interest to purchase.

Special mention

The Apple Watch 2 was also announced during the conference which is exciting for all fans of plain-text emails. It’s also pretty cool for any of you out there who have ever dreamed of having your emails read under water. Don’t know why that would be but, if so, it’s your lucky day!

Also, the new Apple Watch features full GPS capabilities, which means you no longer need to lug your phone around every time you go on a run, or a swim I guess.